In the past operative access to roof areas has been a major source of danger during inspection and maintenance procedures on sloping roofs leading to falls from roofs and buildings. Such accidents are a major source of injury and fatalities in the building industry.
Currently, for major works, the normal arrangement is the provision of a scaffolding system erected on the building face, the scaffolding being solidly lined and fitted with hand rails at the roof edge. The economics of small tasks and inspections does not permit this method to be adopted. Also, gaps within hand rails or scaffolding permit operators to fall over or through a roof or balcony edge.
Fixed vertical ladders which provide access to roof and roof mounted equipment, for example extract fans, are often fitted with hoops to provide some protection in the event of slipping; however, the gaps are so large that it is possible to fall through such hoops and to sustain injury.
Elevating platforms and wall maintenance cradles are also known and are subject to occasional mechanical failure. If a sudden tilt of a platform or cradle occurs, the operatives risk being thrown out of the cradle or platform.
Currently designers sometimes specify eye bolts at intervals across a roof and trade practice generally uses roof ladders in the form of traditional ladders with hooks that pass over the ridge on to the opposing incline.
This has the disadvantage that there is no means of safely transferring from one eye bolt to another without first unhooking the harness.
Prior art has addressed the problem of safety when working in a position vertically removed from the ground. GB1571385 discloses a rail tether system for use on a sloping surface in this case a large sewerage tank wherein a traveller, to which a harness is attached, travels within a rail attached to the top of the tank. GB1478585 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,089 both disclose slotted hollow rails built into balconies to prevent window cleaners from falling. These systems require a separate rail component to be attached to a building.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety device incorporated in a building component enabling high safety standards to be maintained whilst providing access to a roof area or to the top of a building.